Returning to the ongoing topic, play,
which is an outgrowth of the earlier "winter fun...." My
winter play has been limited to that described in Tuesday's
entry, mostly sledding on the Belsano-area hills. I've ever been
to a ski resort only in the summertime (Blue Knob and Lake Tahoe).
Living in San Jose, Calif., we see snow about 10 miles away every
winter, but it doesn't last long enough for anyone to invest in snow
recreation facilities. The Highway Patrol closes any roads leading
to the snow as soon as the roads get slippery, so it's almost impossible
to get there. For California winter fun, in this part of the state,
you have to go to the Sierra, which is a drive of about four hours
away.

When my kids were young, brother Bob and
his late wife, Lois, lived in a rural area two-and-a-half hours north,
where the nearby mountains are more accessible (it being a nonurban
area, the Highway Patrol is less protecting or interfering as the
case may be) and while visiting them our family were able to get to
the snow once or twice. Having no sleds or other gear, however, the
only activity we could do was make "snow angels." Once my
sons and I, when they were in elementary-school years, discovered
a high elevation alongside a mountain road above San Jose that still
had snow on a little hill after most of the recent precip had melted.
Dozens of cars were parked there with kids "sledding," using
everything from cardboard boxes to roasting pans. Mike and Kevin found
some pieces of cardboard and joined the fun.

Pretty pathetic, eh?

One of the snow-related memories that
sticks in my mind and is missed is seeing heavy snowflakes swirl over
the windshield as driving in the night, the snowflakes illuminated
by the car's headlights. The feeling of warmth and safety in the cocoon
of the car, mixed with the realization that in truth we could slide
into a ditch and crash any minute was exciting and nature's power
was beautiful.

Have you played with a snowmobile? Tried
cross-country skiing? Do people use the Ghost Town Trail for cross-country
skiing? Have you been on a winter vacation in the snow? Or been on
a real sleighride? Curious minds want to know.

Webmaster
Jon Kennedy

Lenten humor: fish & chips

Lost on a rainy night, a nun stumbles across a monastery
and requests shelter there. Fortunately, she's just in time for dinner and
was treated to the best fish and chips she's ever had.

After dinner, she goes into the kitchen to thank
the chefs. She is met by two brothers, "Hello, I'm Brother Michael, and this
is Brother Charles."

"I'm very pleased to meet you. I just wanted to
thank you for a wonderful dinner. The fish and chips were the best I've ever
tasted. Out of curiosity, who cooked what?"

Brother Charles replied, "Well, I'm the fish friar."
She turns to the other brother and says, "Then you must be...?"

"Yes, I'm afraid I'm the chip monk."

Sent
by Trudy Myers

Lenten thought: whom we declare

Because there is no other God, nor ever was, nor will be, than God
the Father unbegotten, without beginning, from whom is all beginning,
the Lord of the universe, as we have been taught; and His son Jesus
Christ, whom we declare to have always been with the Father, spiritually
and ineffably begotten by the Father before the beginning of the world,
before all beginning; and by Him are made all things visible and invisible.
He was made man, and, having defeated death, was received into heaven
by the Father; and He has given Him all power over all names in heaven,
on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue shall confess to Him
that Jesus Christ is Lord and God, in whom we believe, and whose advent
we expect soon to be, judge of the living and of the dead, who will
render to every man according to his deeds; and He has poured forth
upon us abundantly the Holy Spirit, the gift and pledge of immortality,
who makes those who believe and obey sons of God and joint heirs with
Christ; and Him do we confess and adore, one God in the Trinity of
the Holy Name.

Lenten
thoughts (i.e., pertaining to repentance and spiritual growth,
from any faith-community perspective) are solicited from readers.

The
Nanty Glo Home Page and all its departments are for and by the whole
Blacklick Valley community. Your feedback and written or artistic
contributions, also notification about access problems, are welcomed.
Click here to reply.